Samhällsguide, individualist och moderator Samhällskunskapslärares professionella förhållningssätt i betygsättningsrelaterat arbete

Sammanfattning: The aim of this study is to highlight civics teachers’ professional attitudes to grade related work in Samhällskunskap A (Civics), a compulsory course at upper secondary school. The methods employed are qualitative interviews and a compilation of tasks forming the basis of assessment in the current course. To gain a greater understanding of teachers’ grading difficulties, grading related dilemmas and strategies to deal with them have been identified. These are divided into three groups; dilemmas connected to the steering documents, dilemmas involving teachers’ own convictions, and dilemmas related to the school subject in question. Both dilemmas and strategies are mainly generic and the overall purpose expressed in the strategies is to help manage a demanding job situation.The professional attitudes reflect three areas of teacher work. The first is PCK aspects of assessment where teachers emphasize fact deepening tasks (faktafördjupare), news discussions and written tests (nyhetsdiskutant), a varied basis of assessment (samhällsguide), or pupils’ involvement through PBL and seminars (katalysator). Concerning the exercise of grading authority, teachers act as informal observers of pupils in the classroom, bureaucrats who clearly inform pupils of the grading criteria, professionals who are dependent on the cooperation with colleagues, and individualists who work alone. The development of democratic competence displays the teacher as a moderator who focuses on having pupils problemising and questioning social issues, as a co-operator who regards pupils as customers, or as a deliberator who emphasizes a permitting and open climate for discussions.